We live in a city with a large Chinatown—lots of places to enjoy dim sum. But even if you’re many miles from the nearest restaurant, you can make delicious dim sum at home.

Not frozen dim sum but your own homemade treats, but ones made with your own flour, ground meat, seafood and veggies. It may look complex, but most dishes are quite simple to make. Just check out this easy dim sum cookbook.

There are also many recipes and videos online.

Many Americans think of dim sum, a Cantonese tradition, as weekend brunch. But it can be enjoyed every day, for every meal.

There are tempting options for every palate, from vegetarian and vegan to meat and seafood. Some of our favorites:

More, please! Photo courtesy MackenzieLtd.com.

 
If you’re a fan of Cream of Wheat or Cream Of Rice porridges, make the savory Chinese version, congee (with a soft “g”).
 
All dishes can be made ahead and many can be frozen.

PARTY TIME

Dim sum can be served for brunch/lunch and as cocktail party fare.

If the idea of preparing dim sum is intimidating, plan a co-op party with friends who like to cook. Everyone can make one or two dishes.

 
What to drink with dim sum? Tea, of course!

A dim sum party is an opportunity to sample a few different teas as well. Take a look at chrysanthemum, dragon well, jasmine, gunpowder, keemum, lychee, oolong, pu-erh—brewed from whole leaf tea, of course! (Check out the different types of tea.)

Dim sum derives from an older tea house tradition, yum cha (tea tasting), in the Canton province southern China. Travelers would take refreshment at roadside teahouses; locals would stop by to relax after a day of tilling the fields or other labor.

At some point teahouse owners began to add snacks: hence the development of dim sum. The translation of dim sum, “touches the heart,” shows that it was originally not a main meal but a snack.

Over the centuries, dim sum evolved from an afternoon respite to a major meal, from breakfast through mid-afternoon. Some modern restaurants extend dim sum to dinner time; it is now a staple of Cantonese dining culture and served all over China.

For a dim sum holiday head to Hong Kong, the dim sum capital of the world. If you’re in a major U.S. city, head to its Chinatown.

In New York City, our favorite is Jing Fong, a huge restaurant with the largest selection we’ve ever seen. The food is wheeled around on carts by servers; you point to what you want. Food is priced by the dish, but you can gorge yourself for not much more than $15-$20 a person.

To end the confusion of what’s what, you can get this dim sum pocket guide, in paperback or Kindle editions.

Sihk faahn (that’s eat, the equivalent of bon appétit, in Cantonese)!

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with these Margarita Jell-O shots, created by Good Cocktails.com.

Mix up some strawberry Margarita Jell-O (yes, with tequila) and pour into hollowed-out strawberry cups.

Refrigerate, garnish with a small slice of lime, and serve.

It’s delicious and fun. Here’s the recipe.

Here’s a fun idea for Mother’s Day or any other celebration: a custom glass rimmer for cocktails or mocktails. You can buy rimmers in tins, but it’s almost as fast to make your own.

We owe this tip to Seattle’s Best, which served us a coffee Martini with a sugar rim at a recent event.

Wow, we said: How did you get the sugar to really stick on? Our own efforts to create the ideal flavored rim were not as successful.

The answer: Dip the rim of the glass in maple syrup, not water as we’ve been doing, to create the glass rimmer. Do it in advance so the syrup can dry.

We substituted agave for the maple syrup, which held just as fast and firm and is even better when you don’t want to add maple flavor.

Sanding sugar is available in numerous colors, and the technique also works with a chocolate rim, a shredded coconut rim, a sprinkles rim or whatever look and taste you like.

You can be creative in your blend, adding anise, cinnamon or other spice to the base ingredient.

And you can do it with savory rims, blending celery salt, chili powder or sea salt with just about any herb or spice that adds complementary flavor to the drink.

Here’s the recipe we tasted from Seattle’s Best:

RECIPE: SEATTLE’S BEST COFFEE MAPLETINI

Ingredients For 4 Drinks

Preparation

1. BREW coffee one hour or more before serving and cool to room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator. (Note: You can brew and refrigerate the coffee days in advance.)

2. COMBINE the brewed coffee, half & half, maple syrup and vanilla-flavored vodka in a large glass or martini shaker. Fill with ice, then shake or stir until the ingredients are well-combined.

3. MOISTEN the rims of four martini glasses with maple syrup and dip in sugar to lightly coat.

4. STRAIN the cocktail and pour into the prepared glasses.